Button Battery Ingestions in Children

An incidental finding of a long-standing button battery in the floor of the nose during a routine orthodontic examination

Foreign body insertion into the ears and nose is common in children and is often witnessed by the carer or reported by the child and therefore appropriate management can be sought promptly. However, these incidents can go unreported and may be accompanied by non-specific symptoms making diagnosis difficult. Button batteries are common in everyday life and their small size and shiny appearance make them appealing to children and their ingestion or insertion is not uncommon. Due to their size, shape and electrochemical composition button batteries pose serious complications if ingested, inhaled or inserted. In the nose they usually cause intense local tissue reactions resulting in severe tissue destruction, septal necrosis or stenosis of the nasal cavity as well as posing the risk of subsequently being ingested or aspirated. This case report details an incidental finding of a button battery in the floor of the nose discovered on routine orthodontic radiographs. An upper standard occlusal and dental panoramic tomography showed a radiopaque, cylindrical, object in the floor of the nose which a subsequent CBCT localized to the floor of the right nasal fossa. The patient required orthodontic extractions and the exposure and bonding of teeth under general anaesthetic. Therefore the battery was removed by the maxillofacial surgery team at the same general anaesthetic. This is a rare case of an incidental finding of a long-standing button battery impaction which was asymptomatic and did not have any detrimental effects. This case highlights the dangers of button battery impaction and the need for prompt referral for removal.